BATON ROUGE - A group of religious leaders from around Louisiana gathered Friday morning at the State Capitol, urging Gov. Jeff Landry to not only halt all executions but get rid of the death penalty altogether.

"We're giving a letter to the governor in the name of all the bishops of Louisiana, and in fact, a common message that we want the end of the death penalty," Diocese of Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca said.

Faith leaders presented the governor's office with multiple letters containing more than 250 signatures from clergy and church leaders around the state.

The letters were from Louisiana InterFaith Against Executions, known as L.I.F.E, the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Burning Bush: Catholic Sisters and Brothers for an End to Violence and Friends in Faith.

"Advocating for an end to violence by the state, by the government, believing in the mercy and human dignity of every person and calling for compassion and mercy," Allison McCrary with Louisiana InterFaith against Executions said.

This comes as Louisiana prepares for its first execution since 2010. Jessie Hoffman's death warrant calls for him to be executed Tuesday, in what will be the state's first use of nitrogen hypoxia to carry out the death penalty.

A federal judge had put the execution on hold amid questions about the method. However, Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned the Middle District of Louisiana's injunction against Hoffman's execution, following an appeal by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill's office.

Hoffman was convicted in the 1996 rape and murder of Mary "Molly" Elliot, a 28-year-old woman from New Orleans, whose body was found near the Pearl River in St. Tammany parish. She was nude and had been shot in the head.

Louisiana has been unable to execute inmates because drug makers have thwarted government efforts to get the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, after Alabama executed a man using nitrogen Hypoxia, Louisiana governor Jeff Landry asked the legislature to approve the same protocol.

Friday morning, the faith leaders called on the state government to grant a reprieve to Hoffman, saying the death penalty goes against the tenets of many religious faiths.

"Killing does not bring true justice, it only continues to perpetuate the suffering with long-lasting effects of unwholesome karma and not only for the offender, but for those calling for the punishment," Venerable Clear Buddhist priest Grace Dayananda said.

L.I.F.E. says the resources spent on the death penalty could be better spent preventing crime or supporting the families of victims.

"Victims are very, very important, but killing somebody else is not going to restore their loved ones. We will support you in every way that we can. That is the call of our Christian faith," Sister Maura O'Donovan of the Burning Bush Steering Committee said.

Hoffman's lawyers told WBRZ that they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.